WO2009136047A1

WO2009136047A1 - Method of electronic voting, decoder for implementing this method and network comprising a voting server for implementing the method

Info

Publication number: WO2009136047A1
Application number: PCT/FR2009/050579
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gérard Delegue; Olivier Martinot
Original assignee: Alcatel Lucent
Priority date: 2008-04-17
Filing date: 2009-04-06
Publication date: 2009-11-12
Also published as: KR20100132039A; FR2930357A1; EP2272034A1; CN102007506A; US20110113439A1; JP2011517825A

Abstract

Method of electronic voting in a questionnaire, comprising: - a step of broadcasting an offer of electronic voting service to a plurality of communications terminals; - a step of dispatching from a communication terminal of a voter, a request to a remote server, this request containing information for authenticating a voter; - a step of authenticating the voter by comparing the authentication information received with recorded information associated with the voter; - when the voter has been authenticated, a step of dispatching to the communication terminal of the voter a ticket to participate in the vote; a step of dispatching the vote to the server, the former containing a response to the questionnaire and the ticket to participate in the vote, this method being characterized in that it comprises two steps of anonymization, a first step ensuring anonymization to the ticket to participate addressed to the voter by the server, a second step ensuring anonymization of the communication terminal addressing the response to the vote to the server, the participation ticket containing at least one item of data associated with the profile of the voter.

Description

ELECTROMIC VOTING METHOD, DECODER FOR IMPLEMENTING

METHOD AND NETWORK COMPRISING A SERVER

OF VOTE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESS

The invention relates to the technical field of telecommunications.

The invention relates more particularly to electronic voting techniques and opinion polls.

By "survey" is meant here the collection of information from a portion of a target population.

By "opinion poll" is meant here the application of survey techniques to determine the opinions or probable preferences of individuals in the target population.

Conventionally, pollsters favor the telephone approach. This direct approach is a source of errors for several reasons.

First, the answer to a telephone questionnaire requires the attention of the person surveyed, at a time or in an environment that they have not chosen, for example at work or in a public place. The interviewee may not have the time and the peace of mind to answer the questions in a natural way.

Secondly, respondents are not necessarily willing to answer any type of question frankly. For example, some issues may be seen as indiscreet, for example when it comes to political or religious preferences. Other issues may be perceived, rightly or wrongly, as triggers for telematics operations. In general, respondents may be reluctant to answer certain questions, in the absence of a guarantee of anonymity or confidentiality.

Internet surveys or opinion polls, with an incentive to respond, are often perceived as rotten! (spam, junk mail). Recipients may be afraid to open an unexpected message that may contain viruses. Moreover, the results of these surveys and polls can be statistically participant answering more than once, ie if bypassing a filter based on the control of the IP address,

Electronic voting on the Internet has been proposed, but its implementation remains delicate, especially for security reasons (see Stephen Mason, Computer Fraud & Security 2004) .Evailing could increase participation rates. Especially for its young people, e-voting would also limit the use of proxies, as any terminal connected to the Internet (including interactive kiosks) would allow voting (see Andreas Auer & Alexander Threchsel, Voting by Internet Center for Studies and Documentation on Direct Democracy 2004),

To ensure the confidentiality of electronic voting, several techniques have been proposed, for example homomorphic encryption, or even Blind signature scheme and mixer networks proposed by David Chaum. Only a small number of electronic voting software has been proposed in commercial version (for a review of these systems, see Bouras et al Telematics ad Informatics 20, 2003, pp, 255-274). Security of voting means that no one can make the connection between an elector and his vote. In addition, only those who are eligible to vote must be able to vote, and no elector must be able to vote twice in a single election. Each elector must be able to verify that his vote has been counted and no elector must be able to prove the manner in which he has voted. An example of an anonymous voting protocol has recently been described by Chang et al., 2006, pp. 307-314.

The constraints of electronic voting do not allow its implementation by conventional means of communication offered on the Internet, eg bîogues, forums. Indeed, confidentiality is not guaranteed for iβs voters. In addition, no means is usually implemented to prevent a person addresses multiple flights.

We have also known for a long time surveys, votes and opinion poll announced by the way of television or radio. For example, the viewer is invited to call a telephone number to express his choice, typically a response to a game. WO 01/65849 describes the principle of another application. possible: spectators are invited to express their preferences for the unfolding of the scenario, among several alternatives.

When public opinion surveys are launched by means of television or radio, the results are often not usable, for two main reasons,

First, each person can vote on multiple occasions. Second, assuming that each person has voted only once, the vote represents only the opinions of those who have chosen to participate, including on matters for which they have no interest or any special knowledge. The opportunity to participate also depends on various factors, including the use of immediate time at the time of the survey.

To mitigate these difficulties, GB 2376101 proposes a method in which the questions asked during the survey are established according to pre-recorded profiles. These profiles take into account the consumer's decision not to respond to this or that new question.

Also known are electronic voting methods, for elections, deployed as an interactive television service. The document US 2003/0149618 describes such a method, which is unsuitable for conducting opinion polls, especially for commercial operations. Indeed, the regulations prohibit any technique allowing to associate a vote to such or such personal characteristic of the voter, for example socio-professional category, age, etc. Complex and expensive means are provided to ensure complete anonymity of the vote cast.

The object of the invention is to provide a technique that mitigates the disadvantages of the prior art.

According to a first object, the invention aims to provide an electronic voting, opinion polling or survey system, for example a satisfaction survey, to guarantee the confidentiality and anonymity of the data provided by the participants, and also ensuring a good representation of voters in relation to a target population. According to the second aspect, the invention aims to provide an electronic voting, opinion polling or survey system, for example satisfaction survey, of the type above, to encourage participation.

For these purposes, the invention relates, in a first aspect, to a method of electronic voting a questionnaire, comprising: - a step of broadcasting an electronic voting service offer to a plurality of communication terminals;

- a step of sending from a communication finished it a voter, ^a request to a remote server, the request containing information authenîificatton of the voter; a step of authenticating the voter by comparison between the received authentication information and registered information associated with the voter;

when the voter has been authenticated, a step of sending to the communication terminal of the voter a voting participation ticket; - a step of sending to the server of the voting, containing a response to the questionnaire and the ticket turnout _"which process comprises two steps anonymization, a first step ensuring the anonymity of the participation ticket sent to the voter by the server , a second step ensuring the anonymization of the communication terminal addressing the server response to vote, the participation ticket containing at least one data associated with the voter profile.

In an implementation, the participation ticket contains at least one encrypted data of prof)! of the voter. In one implementation, the method comprises a step of creating a questionnaire identification key, this key being sent by the server to the voter terminal.

Advantageously, the method comprises a step of selecting, among the requests, those from a voter satisfying a predefined criterion, this selection taking the form of a conditional access, or digital rights management.

The invention relates, according to a second aspect, to a decoder adapted to the implementation of the method as presented above, this decoder comprising means for receiving a digital television program by cable or electromagnetic wave, this decoder further comprising;

- Connection means to a software pleat: means for identifying an interactive electronic voting application adapted to the broadcast television program,

means for synchronizing this interactive application to said digital program; means for broadcasting a signal comprising the digital program and the data specific to the interactive electronic voting application identified.

The invention relates, according to a third aspect, to a television broadcasting network, this network comprising a plurality of reception terminals each provided with a decoder as presented above, and an electronic voting server, the decoder comprising a module for selecting the electronic voting service and a management module, the server comprising:

a first module, called the creation module, ensuring the generation of the questionnaire,

- an electronic service guide generator, adding electronic voting services to other interactive television services,

a subscription module performing a comparison of the authentication information received from the selection module with information stored in profile databases, the subscription module addressing the participation ticket to the management module, when the voter has been identified; ,

- an anonymisation module receiving the response to the questionnaire e! the ticket for participation in the vote.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will emerge in the light of the following description of currently preferred embodiments, which description will be made with reference to the appended figure. The following description will be made with reference to an implementation of an opinion poll, proposed in interactive television service, on a mobile terminal or via a set-box, context in which languages such as MPEG4-BIFS or MPEG4 -LASE R (rich media language) allow to offer interactive services to users. The expression "interactive television" being used in the state of the art to designate rather different realities, the following clarifications are made here, as far as necessary.

By "interactive television" (ITV Interactive Television) is meant here any technology allowing a two-way communication between spectators and service provider (such as broadcaster, cable operator), especially for entertainment, information, education, commerce For example, the Applicant has developed an interactive television technology called AmigoTV that allows the video editor to share opinions and emotions within a community.

In current interactive television techniques, the viewer can, for example, choose between different contents of a digital package, using an Electronic Program Guide (EPG Electronic Program Guide). It can also access the Internet from an ad hoc decoder {WebTv}.

Interactive television conventionally includes a return channel (back channel) enabling the viewer to send information or feedback to the content provider {content provider). Traditional television content is thus compiété; access to links to websites, e-commerce {T-commerce), video on demand (VOD), electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide),

The return channel may be visible on the TV screen (for example by a separate screen split screen), the user communicating with

S ^using its remote Ei its decoder [set top box) or an embedded device (buut in) by exampIe! T (Integrated Smart

Television).

The reality of services offered under the "interactive television" label can be presented from two angles: the content of services on the one hand and the type of interactivity on the other.

With regard to the content of services, can be distinguished:

- enriched television {enhanced TV);

- participatory television (cal! TV); - autonomous interactive television.

For enhanced television, services are offered in addition to the broadcast program. Info

additional information are sent to the viewer for example via the blanking interval of the signal TV (Vertical Bianking Interval) and / or via telephone lines. This additional information can be text, graphics, and still images for programming, trigger-enabled web content, a new video and video component, or a custom view (camera angle). For example, the chain Equidia offers subscribers with a digital terminal connected to a telephone line to open an account and to bet at home on all horse races broadcast. The information delivered may or may not be related to the program being broadcast. Enriched television does not allow communication between people watching the same program.

For participatory television, a communication service allows a viewer to intervene on the content of a program broadcast during or outside of airtime. For example, Tatamia Solutions offers a platform Tatamia Interactive Channel for broadcasting SMS (Short Message Service) live on the screens. The viewer can for example choose the video clip that will be broadcast during a show and sign it by chatting with his friends. Spectators may also vote or participate in a contest, for example on so-called reality shows.

A stand-alone interactive television service does not include any television services as a primary or secondary feature. These include transactional services such as home banking, classifieds. The television receiver can also for example be used as a terminal for receiving messages between subscribers (for example TV mail from the company TPS): when a subscriber receives a new message, he is automatically warned at the bottom of the screen, when it changes channels. The TV receiver can also serve as a screen for interactive games offered by a virtual channel

The invention particularly relates to enriched television and participatory television.

It aims essentially at interactive television on a fixed terminal. The system shown schematically in the appended figure comprises a server 1 and a user device 2, for example a set device The user device 2 comprises means for receiving the generic data of the Electronic Service Guide (ESG). In one implementation, these generic data come from a digital broadcasting network such as DVB-H, DVB-H _+, DMB-S. An ESG data syntax is presented in EP 1791280 for the European DVB digital television standard.

Advantageously, the user device 2 also comprises means for receiving specific data from the ESG, these specific data depending on the profile of the user.

Based on generic data and personalized data received, an updated electronic service guide is obtained. The update can be performed by transmitting data frames modulated on a carrier according to a carousel or an endless loop. A browser allows the user of the device 2 to consult the various services offered, for example in addition to television programs, and to access these services.

This browser is advantageously connected to a rights management module. Thus, the user of the device 2 is informed of the possibilities or not to share such or such service. The server 1 is provided with several modules,

A first module, called creative modulus 3. ensures the generation of questions from the opinion poll. This creation module 3 also generates a poll identification key. An electronic service guide generator 4 adds survey services to other interactive television services. Advantageously, the polling service is of limited access (conditional access), for example conditional access. Alternatively, Digital Rights Management (DRM Digiîaf Rights Management) provides protection for the content of the service using a license server. This digital rights management makes it possible to limit access to the polling service to a population. specific. Service access codes may, for example, be provided to a socio-professional category, or to the inhabitants of a given region. Geomarketing or data mining data can be used to define the profiles of the target population. In the user device 2, a module 5 allows selection to the probing service. When a poll is selected by the user, the electronic service guide generator 4 sends a probing identification key to the module 5. module 5 then transmits this identification key and the authentication of the user to a subscription module 6.

The subscription module thus receives a request from the user device 2 for participation in a specific survey.

The subscription module is linked to a database of user profiles 7 and a user location database 8.

From these databases 7, 8, the subscription module advantageously performs a weighting or an adaptation of the survey, to build a representative sample of the population of the faith. For example, the representative sample is established according to the empirical quota method: from characteristics whose distribution is known for an entire population, a reduced model of this population is constructed. Characteristics are chosen to influence survey responses. The subscription module sends to a management module 9 a unique participation ticket. This ticket is advantageously anonymous, it allows a single single access to the survey service. A server module 10 transmits to the management module survey content, where appropriate adapted to the profile of the user. The responses of the user and the participation ticket are sent by the management module 9 to an anonymization module 1 1. This module protects the confidentiality of the data of the user, for example IP address.

The responses, after passing through the anonymization module 1 1, are transmitted to a collation module 12 to be stored in a database 13.

The subscription module also sends data to a billing module 14 and to the colocation method 1 2.

To encourage the viewer to respond to the survey, several technical measures are advantageously implemented. Firstly, the offer of participation in the survey is visible to the viewer during the broadcast of a program whose content corresponds to a survey theme.

Alternatively or in combination, participation in the survey is associated with a commercial offer (eg a discount for a service). The subscription module for this purpose sends information to the billing module 14.

To ensure the statistical quality of the survey results, several technical measures are advantageously implemented. First, the survey responses are associated with the viewer profile, while preserving anonymity. To this end, the subscription module θ addresses information relating to the profile of the viewer at the collation module 12. When this collation module receives its responses to the survey, i! associates these answers with the spectator's profile, via the anonymous participation ticket.

It is thus possible to weight the responses to the survey. For example, a questionnaire is sent to spectators of a sports competition. If the representative sample of the target population comprises as many men as women, the method makes it possible to detect any under-representation of responses from women.

Secondly, the anonymous participation ticket is for single use, the method for detecting and rejecting a new request to participate in the survey. The method can be used for conducting polls, polls or questionnaires, with or without a direct impact on the programs broadcast.

The method is compatible with different types of interactivity. When interactivity is simulated, the applications and data are integrated into the broadcast video stream, at once or in a loop, The polling service is made available either in real time on selection of the viewer, or by storage on the disk hard that allows local interactivity.

When interactivity is deported, i! There is exchange of data between the broadcaster and the viewer by means of equipment independent of the content distribution network. For example, the respondent addresses his survey responses via the telephone line to which a decoder is connected.

The invention has many advantages. Some of these benefits are presented below. In an opinion poll, it is possible to keep a link between the survey responses and certain information about the person surveyed, while prohibiting the direct association of an opinion with a person.

In an opinion poll, i! It is possible to target the people who will be allowed to answer. Access to the polling service is protected, for example by conditional access or DRM,

To encourage people to participate in surveys, several means are possible: electronic coupons to obtain discounts, access to new interactive services, subscriptions at advantageous rates, for example.

The anonymity of the people surveyed is ensured in particular by the masking of the IP source address of the terminals: Its IP requests of a user of the polling service arrive with a given source IP address on an anonymizer and emerging from this anonymizer with a other source address. This anonymization function can be hosted by a trusted site independent of the service provider in charge of managing polls.

Nothing media languages (eg M PEG4-BI FS or MPEG-

LASER) allows you to customize survey questionnaires, users being asked to answer only certain questions based on their profiles or their previous answers, for example.

The invention thus allows improved exploitation of the results of surveys.

Claims

1. Electronic voting method for a questionnaire, including:

a step of broadcasting an electronic voting service offer to a plurality of communication terminals;

a step of sending from a communication terminal of a voter a request to a remote server, this request containing voter authentication information;

a step of authenticating the voter by comparison between the received authentication information and registered information associated with the voter;

- when the voter has been authenticated, a step of sending to the termina! communicating the voter of a voting participation ticket;

a step of sending to the vote server, containing a response to the questionaire and the ticket for participation in the vote, this process being characterized in that it comprises two anonymization steps, a first step ensuring the anonymisation of the participation ticket addressed to the voter by Se server, a second step ensuring the anonymisation of the communication terminal giving the server the response to the vote, the participation ticket containing at least one piece of data associated with the voter profile,

2. An electronic voting method according to claim 1, characterized in that the participation ticket contains at least ns an encrypted data profile of the voter.

3. An electronic voting method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a step of creating a questionnaire identification key, this key being sent by the server to the end of the voter,

4. An electronic voting method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in thatii comprises a step of selecting, among the requests, those from satisfied voters to a predefined criterion, this selection taking the form of u n access conditional !, or n um ical rights management.

5. Decoder adapted to the implementation of the method as presented in the preceding claims, this decoder being characterized in that it comprises means for receiving a digital television program by cable or electromagnetic wave, this decoder further comprising:

means of connection to a software platform,

means for identifying an interactive electronic voting application adapted to the broadcast television program,

means for synchronizing this interactive application to said digital program,

means for broadcasting a signal comprising the digital program and the data specific to the interactive electronic voting application identified.

6. A television broadcast network, this network comprises a plurality of reception terminals each provided with a decoder according to claim 5, and an electronic voting server, the decoder comprising a module (5) for selecting the voting service. and a management module (9), the server comprising:

a first module, called the creation module (3), ensuring the generation of the questionnaire,

- an electronic service guide generator (4), adding electronic voting services to other interactive television services,

- a subscription module (6) performing a comparison of authenticating information received from the selection module (5) with information stored in profile databases, the subscription module addressing the participation ticket to the management module {9), when the voter has been identified,

- an anonymization module {1 1} receiving the questionnaire response and the voting ticket,

7. Broadcast network according to claim 8, characterized in that the server further comprises a billing module (1 4), the participation in the vote being recorded and associated with a commercial offer